Rules and Eligibility - New York StartUP! 2015 Business Plan Competition

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1. Entry Form. Competition entrants must create an account and complete an on-line entry form in the New York StartUP!2015 Business Plan Competition Review Room site to enter the Competition. (This competition will hereafter be known as “NY StartUP! 2015”).

2. Age. All NY StartUP! 2015 applicants, whether individuals or members of a team, must be 18 years of age or older. Documentation may be required.

3. Location. The business proposed in the NY StartUP! 2015 entry form must operate in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island.

4. Residency. All individual applicants and team members must be legal residents or U.S. citizens. All individual applicants and/or team leaders must have a legal residence in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island. Documentation will be required of the finalists.

5. Start Ups Only. All businesses must have ideas or business models in the start-up phase. Operating businesses that have earned more than $10,000 in revenue are not eligible to enter the competition.

6 . For–Profit Businesses Only. NY StartUP! 2015 is a business plan competition for for-profit businesses. Non-profits are not eligible to to enter.

7. Individual and Team Entry. NY StartUP! 2015 entrants may enter only once, either as an individual or as part of a team. If entering as a team, the team must appoint one individual as the team leader and main contact ,and one other as the secondary contact. The team's entry form must list all individuals on the team.

8. Orientation Session. An individual entrant and at least one entrant from each team must attend ONE (1) of the NY StartUP! 2015 orientation sessions. These sessions will cover competition rules, regulations, requirements; procedures for using ReviewRoom; important dates and deadlines; and the business plan judging process and criteria. Entry forms must be submitted on the NY StartUP! 2015 site no later than midnight, Monday, February 2, 2015 at midnight.

13. Ineligibility. Employees or their family members from either The New York Public Library or the Citi Foundation are not eligible to enter NY StartUP! 2015 either individually or as any part of a team.

14. Finalists. Finalists may be asked to provide a current credit report.

15. Disbursement of Funds. Prize money will be awarded to each winner following the end of the competition. The winning NY StartUP! 2015 entrant or team will have sole responsibility for deciding how to allocate or otherwise use its prize proceeds. Please note that the awards are taxable and that The New York Public Library must have each winner’s Social Security number before a check can be issued. All decisions of the judges are final.

16. Confidentiality. By the submission of your Business Plan, you understand and agree that a short description of your Business Plan will be considered a “public summary” of your plan and may be used in public documentation related to the competition. The Library will provide a copy of your business plan to competition staff and judges, and will inform them that no additional copies are to be made. The New York Public Library will have no responsibility to protect the intellectual property rights of each contestant. Protection of such rights is the responsibility of each applicant. Working models or prototypes will not be accepted. The Business Plan will not be returned and will be destroyed after the competition has ended.

16. Disqualification. Violation of any one or multiple rules for eligibility will result in disqualification from NY StartUP! 2015 at any point.

Note: Interpretation and enforcement of these regulations are in the sole discretion of the New York Public Library and the decisions of the judges are final.